Uncharted: Drake's Fortune review (PS3)

The PS3 has no games. So went the common fanboy's refrain in 2006-Jun 2008. Now, most reasonable people (non-fanboys) will admit that there was a time when the PS3 really did not have good games. But at the same time most will question the idea that it took almost two years for the PS3 to get good games. Uncharted (2007) stands out as an example of what the PS3 could do. However, was this truly the first great PS3 game? Or was it only a good PS3 game?

Gameplay:
Let's jump right into the most important part of any game.

The gameplay in Uncharted stands out as one of the better action games of this generation of consoles. The partner AI is some of the best I had ever seen in a video game up until the point when Uncharted came out. They manage to help you without taking out an entire army for you. Fortunately, the developers decided not to ever have escort missions. While it does take half a clip to take out an enemy, headshots are, of course, one hit kills and are reasonably easy to attain.
On the negative side, the pacing in Uncharted it a bit off. Sometimes there is an exhausting amount of gunplay and the story seems to just take a break for 45min or so. In addition (in the unpatched version) motion control is forced for actions like crossing logs and aiming grenades. It does not really work well for either of these tasks.
Overall, my complains are minor. The gameplay is top-notch.(9/10)

Music/Sound:
One of the strongest points in this game. The music and especially the main theme are amazing. They have energy, emotion and a sense of power to them. They perfectly fit an adventure/action game. You may easily find yourself whistling the theme to Uncharted.
I only wish that more of the songs seemed memorable, but that is a minor and very personal complaint. (9.5/10)

Graphics:
Yes, I'm going to say it...4-D graphics exist. They are simply when something changes over time in a video game. The use of 4-D graphics in Uncharted is a good detail that adds a little to the atmosphere. The graphics generally fit the story. With vibrant jungle colors and darkly lit temples. They add to the emotion and are well done, especially in terms of the lighting.
Occasional low-res textures pop up, but you almost have to search for them. (9/10)

Story:
This is generally a fun story that keeps you interested...until the twist ending. I will not spoil the ending, but suffice to say that I really did not like it at all (at least in terms of the twist. Aside from the twist ending, the story creates a sense of mystery and excitement that each take up an appropriate amount of time in the story. It has some pacing problems, but is generally fun and keeps you interested. (8/10)

(Note: overall rating includes story although that is not a category listed below.)

Ups

A generally interesting story

Colorful graphics and scenery

Strong Gameplay

Downs

Twist ending

Minor pacing problems

Rare low-res graphics

Score

9.0

Graphics
Top notch for the time. With a few out of place textures at times.

9.5

Sound
OMG the theme!!!

9.0

Gameplay
Great, just minor pacing problems.

9.0

Fun factor
You will think about how cool and fun this game was hours after playing it.